Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Sibanye Gold Limited (SBSW) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.Sibanye Gold Limited is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 247 different companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Sibanye Gold Limited is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBSW's full-year earnings has moved 16.6% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.According to our latest data, SBSW has moved about 1.2% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 0.3%. This means that Sibanye Gold Limited is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Sylvamo Corporation (SLVM), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 9%.The consensus estimate for Sylvamo Corporation's current year EPS has increased 35.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Looking more specifically, Sibanye Gold Limited belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 51 individual stocks and currently sits at #90 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1.2% so far this year, so SBSW is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.In contrast, Sylvamo Corporation falls under the Paper and Related Products industry. Currently, this industry has 12 stocks and is ranked #186. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +0.8%.Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Sibanye Gold Limited and Sylvamo Corporation as they attempt to continue their solid performance. Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double" From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all. As one investor put it, “curing and preventing hundreds of diseases…what should that market be worth?” This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sibanye Gold Limited (SBSW): Free Stock Analysis Report Sylvamo Corporation (SLVM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.